South Allentown fire started with candle a daughter left burning, officials say

FRANK WARNER, THE MORNING CALL

Allentown firefighters clean up after the South Race Street fire Wednesday evening that badly damaged a first-floor family room. An investigation found that a candle started the fire.

Allentown firefighters clean up after the South Race Street fire Wednesday evening that badly damaged a first-floor family room. An investigation found that a candle started the fire. (FRANK WARNER, THE MORNING CALL)

South Allentown fire started with candle a daughter left burning, officials say

The fire that badly damaged the first floor of a south Allentown couple's home Wednesday evening was started accidentally by a candle that a daughter lit hours earlier, fire officials said Thursday.

The fire was reported about 6:40 p.m. at the South Race Street home of Ian and Alicia Thomas, who were on a beach vacation with their other children at the time.

"We found out their 18-year-old daughter didn't go with them," city fire Capt. John Christopher said. "She decided to stay with friends and she was in there in the afternoon to get some clothes.

"She was there only briefly and she lit a candle on a coffee table. She couldn't remember if she extinguished it."

The young woman lit the candle as early as 3 p.m. before she left to go to a job, Christopher said. Surveillance video in the house captured the hours it took the candle flame to spread to a carpet and a couch, he said.

"The fire [at the couch] was probably burning for about an hour before we got the call," he said. "The fire actually started at 5:45 p.m."

Christopher said the candle was on a ceramic tray as the wax burned and melted, finally spilling to the carpet, which carried the flame to the sofa.

The house is so well insulated that the flames were subdued as they spread, he said. Nearly an hour later, neighbors saw smoke coming out of the home's second-story windows.

"The fire damage was contained to that [first-floor family] room," Christopher said. "There was smoke and heat damage to the rest of the house.

"When they [the firefighters] opened the house up, the fire was actually rolling on the ceiling. They had the fire out in 10 minutes. Getting rid of the smoke and hot gases took a bit longer."

The daughter's description of her brief visit to the house was corroborated by the video, Christopher said.

"She was very truthful," he said. "She was embarrassed, but she cleared the whole thing up. She gave us good information. We don't get that too often."